Hornets Sign Brian Roberts
The Hornets have officially signed 6'1" guard Brian Roberts to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Roberts, who played his college ball at the University of Dayton, has spent the last few seasons overseas, primarily in Germany.
Roberts played for the Hornets' Summer League squad in Las Vegas, averaging 13.8 points, 2.2 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 27.4 minutes per game, including outstanding shooting percentages of .500/.545/.938.
Roberts will likely receive no more than a partial guarantee from the Hornets, with a chance to earn a roster spot in training camp. We heard earlier in August that the 26-year-old was leaving his team in Germany to join the Hornets.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Southwest
Our look at offseason spending continues today as we examine the fifth of six NBA divisions. So far, we've covered free agent expenditures in the Atlantic, Central and Southeast, and Northwest divisions, using Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker. The Southwest division is up next, and it includes a surprising pair of teams at the top and bottom.
Once again, these figures only take into account free agent signings, so salary absorbed in trades or money used to sign draft picks isn't included in this list. Additionally, not all of this salary is necessarily guaranteed, which we'll try to note as we go along. Here are this summer's Southwest Division free agent costs, sorted by player salary:
New Orleans Hornets: $108.948MM (Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Robin Lopez, Roger Mason)
It wasn't a surprise to see the Hornets match the Suns' max offer sheet for Gordon and bring him back on a four-year deal worth $58MM+. But I wasn't expecting the Hornets to splurge on a couple more free agents, as they did with Anderson and Lopez. To be fair, it appears only the first year of Lopez's three-year, $15MM+ contract is guaranteed, but Anderson's four-year, $34MM deal is fully guaranteed. With Gordon, Anderson, Anthony Davis, and Austin Rivers signing four-year deals this summer, the Hornets' core appears to be in place through at least 2016.
Houston Rockets: $56.248MM (Omer Asik, Carlos Delfino, Jeremy Lin)
It appeared for some time as if the Rockets would use their cap space to absorb salary in a major trade. Instead, they used it to sign a pair of players to offer sheets they may have thought would be matched. The "poison pill" included in both Asik's and Lin's offer sheets won't apply to Houston, since the Rockets have the ability to spread the two players' annual salaries out more evenly (about $8.3MM per year each). Still, the $25.1MM they'll spend on each player is a risky investment.
San Antonio Spurs: $52.697MM (Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan, Danny Green, Patty Mills)
The Spurs' offseason was fairly quiet, as the team simply re-signed its own free agents rather than exploring the market too extensively. All of these contracts except Green's include a player option in the final year, and all four of them are fully guaranteed, with Duncan's $30MM representing by far the largest commitment.
Memphis Grizzlies: $26.832MM (Darrell Arthur, Jerryd Bayless, Hamed Haddadi, Marreese Speights)
Like the Spurs, the Grizzlies focused primarily on re-signing their own free agents, with one notable exception: Memphis replaced the departing O.J. Mayo with Bayless. Mayo ended up signing for not much more than the two-year, $6.135MM deal Bayless inked with the Grizzlies, so it will be interesting to see if the minor savings are worth it.
Dallas Mavericks: $17.444MM (Chris Kaman, O.J. Mayo, Delonte West)
The Mavericks appeared prepared to offer Deron Williams a four-year, $73MM+ contract, which would have significantly altered their place on this list. But when D-Will opted to return to the Nets, the Mavs took a more cautious approach to free agency, committing to Kaman, Mayo, and West on short-term deals. Given the possibility that Mayo will opt out of his second year and the fact that West is on a minimum-salary deal, the total amount the Mavs spend on this summer's free agents could end up being less than $13MM.
Jazz Tried To Acquire Ryan Anderson
Restricted free agent Ryan Anderson became a Hornet over a month ago, sent to New Orleans by the Magic in a sign-and-trade deal for Gustavo Ayon. Before the two sides completed that trade, however, the Jazz were in talks with the Magic to acquire the sharpshooting Anderson, according to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Smith reports that the Jazz likely would have had to give up Paul Millsap in order to land Anderson, but that Utah eventually backed out of talks for last year's Most Improved Player. The Jazz ultimately acquired another forward in Marvin Williams, and signed an outside shooter in Randy Foye. It's not clear whether the four years and $34MM that Anderson will earn with New Orleans was more or less than he could have received from Utah.
For the Magic, the traded player exception they earned from the Anderson sign-and-trade allowed them to absorb Josh McRoberts' and Christian Eyenga's salaries in last week's Dwight Howard blockbuster, which helped create a massive $17.8MM trade exception in the move. If, rather than Ayon, Orlando had acquired Millsap and his $8.6MM expiring contract for Anderson, it may very well have impacted what the team was willing to give and take in the Howard deal.
Southwest Notes: Collison, Crowder, Benson
Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes.com tots up the off-court endorsement earnings for Team USA, noting that everyone on the team except Kevin Love has a deal with Nike. The absences of Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard leave Adidas without a representative, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Before USA Basketball takes on Argentina later this afternoon, let's catch up on the latest news and notes out of the Southwest Division…
- Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com looks at how the Mavs point guards line up behind presumptive starter Darren Collison. Delonte West should serve as a solid backup to Collison as Rodrigue Beaubois continues to learn the position.
- Jae Crowder, the 34th overall pick in this year's draft, isn't guaranteed a roster spot with the Mavs, even though he's already signed to a deal, as Earl K. Sneed writes on Mavs.com. Nonetheless, his impressive summer league stint gives him hope of cracking the rotation at either forward spot.
- The Hornets have cut ties with numerous members of their respective broadcast teams as new owner Tom Benson wants to take the franchise in a new direction, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune. The latest to go include longtime television play-by-play announcer Bob Licht and analyst Gil McGregor.
Amick On Olympics, Martin, Mason, Harden
You might expect Thunder GM Sam Presti to fall in line behind Mavs owner Mark Cuban in calling for limits on the participation of NBA players in the Olympics, considering Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all playing in London after a long postseason run this spring. Sam Amick of SI.com writes that while Presti is officially neutral on the issue, his enthusiasm for the benefits of international play is apparent, as he harked back to the growth he saw in Durant and Westbrook after the 2010 World Championships. "I think it's really helpful for them to play under different circumstances; it only rounds them out as players and makes them better," Presti said. "What we observed from the World Championship was just the mental endurance that it takes to go through an international competition and the training camp that leads up to it in medal-round play just to get there." The comments made by Presti, a product of the Spurs front office, seem to echo what Spurs GM R.C. Buford has said about the issue. Amick has plenty more in today's piece, and we've got the highlights here:
- The market for remaining frontcourt players is being held up while teams wait for Kenyon Martin to sign, Amick hears. The Lakers and Nets are among teams he's considering, but the willingness of many others to settle for the minimum salary so far this summer has eroded Martin's leverage. Martin is reportedly uninterested in a deal for the minimum.
- Amick takes a closer look at how NBA teams are being more cautious in handing out deals under the new CBA, along with the rise in minimum-salary deals. Luke Adams compiled a list of pacts for the minimum through August 1. The contract Roger Mason signed this weekend with the Hornets is another minimum deal, Amick reports. He also notes that players union president Derek Fisher and vice president Maurice Evans, two key figures in last year's lockout, remain unsigned.
- Emptying his notebook, Amick passes along a James Harden quote from last month that gives indication he's confident about his prospects for an extension with the Thunder. "I'm pretty, a hundred percent, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be in Oklahoma City," Harden said. "I'll let my agent and Mr. Presti and [Thunder owner Clay] Bennett discuss all that, so I'll let them handle that and stay out of it for right now and worry about the USA Olympics."
Robin Lopez Undergoes Knee Surgery
Newly acquired Hornets center Robin Lopez has undergone surgery on his left knee to repair a meniscus tear, the team announced Saturday. He is expected to be ready for training camp.
Lopez was signed and traded last week from the Suns to the Hornets as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Timberwolves. As part of the trade, he reportedly signed a three-year deal worth $15.3MM.
Roger Mason, Hornets Agree To Terms
AUGUST 4, 11:04am: In a statement released by the team, the Hornets have officially signed Roger Mason.
AUGUST 1, 3:22pm: The Hornets have agreed to terms with Roger Mason on a contract, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). When Mason finalizes his deal, New Orleans will become the 31-year-old's sixth team in his ninth NBA season.
A week ago, we heard that Mason was drawing interest from the Hornets, Thunder, Bulls, and Lakers. The Wizards, Mason's most recent team, also had interest in bringing him back, but the veteran shooter was seeking more than a one-year, minimum-salary deal. Terms of his agreement with the Hornets aren't known, but perhaps he was able to land a multiyear deal or a salary a little above the minimum from the club.
From the Hornets' perspective, Mason provides a little more backcourt depth, joining Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, and Xavier Henry as players that figure to earn shooting guard minutes this season. Rivers and Mason will likely also see time at the point, with last year's starter Jarrett Jack having been dealt to Golden State.
International Moves: McCalebb, White, Roberts
We haven't been keeping up with international free agent signings this summer like we have with NBA transactions, but occasionally there are a few items of interest to pass along. Here are a few notable recent moves from overseas:
- Top international player Bo McCalebb will remain overseas rather than making the leap to the NBA anytime soon. As Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes, Turkey's Fenerbahce Ulker announced today that they've signed the former University of New Orleans standout. The deal will be for three years, with a third-year option.
- 2010 Pistons second-round pick Terrico White has signed in Serbia with Radnicki Kragujevac, according to Carchia.
- According to various reports, Brian Roberts, who had been playing in Germany, has left his team and will receive a training camp invite from the Hornets. This move has yet to be confirmed by any Hornets beat writer or the team itself.
- Jarvis Varnado, who was selected 41st overall by the Heat in the 2010 draft, is hoping to sign with Miami this summer, and isn't considering offers overseas at the moment, says Carchia.
Odds & Ends: Bulls, McGrady, Przybilla, Blazers
This afternoon's MLB trade deadline may have stolen the headlines, but there's certainly been no shortage of NBA transactions today either. The Sixers, Bulls, and Timberwolves each announced signings, while the Celtics made four new contracts official. As we wait for the next series of NBA roster moves, let's round up some odds and ends from around the Association….
- The Bulls may have interest in signing Tracy McGrady, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
- Joel Przybilla's Monday meeting with the Bucks went well, but the Trail Blazers (and presumably the Mavs) are still in the running for the big man, says Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter).
- Brandon Roy's return to the NBA, which was made official today, will cost Paul Allen and the Blazers about $17MM in insurance money, according to Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com.
- The roster moves made by the Hornets this summer represented a strong step in the right direction, writes John DeShazier of the Times Picayune.
- ESPN Dallas explores potential targets for the Mavericks in 2013.
Odds & Ends: Varejao, Olympics, Hornets, Spurs
Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao has seen his name pop up in trade rumors this month, mostly in connection with a possible three-team Dwight Howard trade. However, the Brazilian says that the speculation doesn’t bother him, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “There’s nothing that I can do. If they trade me, they trade me,” Varejao said. Here’s more from around the Association..
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tells told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) that “…the Olympics are a huge for-profit endeavor. It makes no sense that NBA owners subsidize it.” An NBA GM agreed with Cuban’s assessment, suggesting that players shouldn’t have their salaries guaranteed in the event of injuries in the Olympic games (Twitter link).
- Hornets owner Tom Benson is hoping to raise the club’s profile to the level of his New Orleans Saints, writes Peter Finney of The Times-Picayune. The Hornets sold 10,000 season tickets last season and Benson has an ambitious goal of selling 17,000 for the upcoming year.
- Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld runs down the best remaining free agents by position. The best player left on the open market, he writes, is arguably forward Carl Landry.
- Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype caught up with Hall Of Famer David Robinson to discuss Tim Duncan‘s new contract, the Spurs‘ knack for finding international talent, and the Dream Team.